A Close (Re)run Thing

Last night Jon and I settled down in GHQ for our now monthly game, a rerun of the ACW battle Phil and I had played out on Monday. I had tweaked the scenario for the Union side very slightly, making each regiment enter the table on a separate command roll to simulate the army strung out on the march. Brigade orders were only allowed once all the constituent regiments had mustered on the field of battle. As before the game length was set at 12 Turns and the rules were Black Powder with the same addition from Glory Hallelujah respecting firing and moving orders. Jon commanded the Union army and once again I took the Confederate command. Could Jubal E Bykleigh register a second win over 'those people'? Let's see, shall we ~

Early in the game the Union  Brigades advance down the road, lead by the
band. Flanking Reb infantry fire soon changed their tune!

The 10th North Carolina could not repeat their heroics defending the wall
from the earlier engagement. They routed in short order under Union fire!

No sign of the Reb's 2nd Division by turn 6! US Regulars are advancing on
the Reb's right flank, held by the boys from Virginia! On the Reb left troops
'Blunder' into the woods in their haste to shore up the flank! I thought it was
all up for Jubal at this point. Awful Disorder then struck the Union right,as a
result of dreadful Command rolls, and saved the day!

As the crisis for the Reb's eased, their 2nd Division finally arrives on the
table and takes its place in the line of battle. The troops from South Carolina
soon stop the Regulars in their tracks, though being Steady they shrug off the 4
Excess Casualties I inflicted on them!

Very poor Command Rolls constantly hampered the Union's attacks, meaning
Regiments were fed piecemeal into the firing line. Disorder abounded on
both sides and the battle settled into an attritional fire fight.

The Union has two Broken Brigades, the Rebs have one, as the Battle nears
its climax. Both sides see men standing shoulder to shoulder exchanging close
range fire in a fruitless attempt to break the enemy's will.

Neither side can break the impasse as Turn 12 ends. The men are 'plumb
tuckered', that is Disordered of course, so the game ends in a draw...

So, there we leave 'Old Jubal', plumb tuckered out after a very hard fought battle which swung first one way and then the other, but ultimately left neither side able to achieve the decisive results needed to turn the battle in their favour. Poor Command Rolls at crucial times hampered the Union attacks, while Confederate fire was too often ineffective. With both sides suffering Disorder in epidemic proportions the battle degenerated inevitably into a Firefight which neither side was able to win. But still, we both thoroughly enjoyed it and replayed key moments over a convivial beer afterwards. Our next game will be on my Birthday, 31st May, and will most likely be a F&IW game using Sharpe Practice.
As a final note, I must have been enthused by the games this week though, as this morning found me painting an old unit of Dixon ACW ragged Rebs from my 'Lead Pimple'!